Plugin CLI Reference

Manage plugins from the command line.

Commands

List Plugins

sidebutton plugin list

Shows all installed plugins with their version, description, and tool names.

Example output:

  Installed Plugins

  screen-record v1.0.0
    Screen recording via ffmpeg x11grab
    Tools (3): start_recording, stop_recording, list_recordings

  writing-quality v1.0.0
    AI writing pattern detection and quality scoring
    Tools (1): check_writing_quality

  Plugins dir: ~/.sidebutton/plugins

Install Plugin

sidebutton plugin install <path>

Install a plugin from a local directory. Copies the plugin into ~/.sidebutton/plugins/.

Parameter	Description
<path>	Path to the plugin directory (must contain plugin.json)

Example:

# Install from a cloned repo
git clone https://github.com/sidebutton/plugin-screen-record.git
sidebutton plugin install plugin-screen-record

# Install from an absolute path
sidebutton plugin install /home/user/my-plugin

Output:

  ✓ Installed plugin: screen-record
  Tools: start_recording, stop_recording, list_recordings

The plugin validates before installation — if plugin.json is missing or invalid, the install fails with a diagnostic.

Remove Plugin

sidebutton plugin remove <name>

Remove an installed plugin by name.

Parameter	Description
<name>	Plugin name (from plugin.json, not directory name)

Example:

sidebutton plugin remove screen-record

Output:

  ✓ Removed plugin: screen-record (3 tools)

Summary

Command	Description
sidebutton plugin list	List installed plugins and tools
sidebutton plugin install <path>	Install from local directory
sidebutton plugin remove <name>	Remove by plugin name

Next Steps

• Creating Plugins — Build your own
• Available Plugins — Official plugins